The 10 best UK cookery courses

If you're looking to expand your culinary repertoire, here are 10 of the best courses around, from learning to cook with fire in North Yorkshire, to mastering vegetarian cuisine in Cheshire.

Leith's School of Food and Wine, London

Founded in 1975 by Prue Leith, the leading cookery school has taught the likes of the Duchess of Cambridge, Gizzi Erskine, Lorraine Pascale, Xanthe Clay and Diana Henry. Short courses range from evening, weekend and one-day classes and cover basic, intermediate and key cooking skills, such as "knife skills, how to follow a recipe, when to weigh ingredients, baking, meat and fish cooking."

River Cottage Cheese Making, Dorset/Devon borders

A one-day course to teach cheese lovers how to take their passion to the next level. Learn from Westcombe Dairy's award-winning cheesemaker Tom Calver how to make a hard cheese, a camembert-style cheese and a ricotta.

The course also promises cheese chefs "won't need much equipment or space" when they make their fromages at home.

The Vegetarian Society Cookery School, Altrincham, Cheshire

Master the art of vegetarian cooking with a two-day workshop at this completely veggie cook school. It promises a mix of lessons in mastering essentials like sauces and salads, as well as adapting non-veggie recipes, using seasonal foods and specific cuisines.

Ashburton Cookery School, Devon

Head to the home of clotted cream and this award-winning cookery school for a masterclass in tasty but tricky-to-make pastries. There are lessons in short crust, sweet and choux pastry and classics such as chocolate eclairs, danish pastries and macaroons.

Foodat52 Cookery School, London

Preparing and cooking fish can be daunting enough to put some people off altogether but a one-day course at Foodat52 promises to make students a "fish expert".

It covers the many variety of seafood, how to handle and cut various fish varieties and cooking and flavour-pairing, with student creating dishes such as sea bream goujons with hand-made tartare sauce and stuffed Goan mackerel recheado.

Gluten-Free Baking and Living, London, Harrogate and the Wirral

Gluten-free? Take a look at our round-up of the country's best gluten-free eateries and then to learn how to bake your own bread, pastries and Christmas foods without gluten at GFB's countrywide course venues.

Cooking with Fire Day Course, Helperby, North Yorkshire

Get back to basics in the North Yorkshire countryside by learning how to build, light, control and maintain a cooking fire. Don't expect burnt barbecue-style bangers though, the course promises lessons in different techniques to create "new and interesting" outdoor meals.